Round2 reissues the ECTO-1A model kit from 1990, and of course Fritz gets one. He does his as a post-GB2 version of the ECTO-1, not too dissimilar to the vehicle seen in the Video Game. But Fritz doesn't put a garbage can on the top of his.

The IDW Ghostbusters comic continues to kick much ass. And he's not just saying that because Erik Burnham named a character after him (and a delightfully ironic choice of character at that)

GenCon 2012 is awesome. Vincent Belmont is still the man. Fritz loads up on Ars Magica and Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition books.

On the down side, IDW announces that the comic will be undergoing a restart with #1. Fritz really should get used to this kind of stunt, because the days people will follow comics with two or three digit numbers on their covers appears to be well over. (sigh)

2013

IDW releases Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters, the first animation-styled story since 1997.

February 3. Fritz makes another self-indulgent post in third person marking...holy crap...his tenth anniversary since registering at Ghostbusters.net. The fact that GBN is all but dead at this point adds an ironic point to that anniversary.

While no, Fritz can't mark this occasion with a new story, he does upload a number of updates to his Timeline. The New Timeline is updated to the end of IDW's Vol.1. And Mars Attacks The Real Ghostbusters is added to the Classic Timeline. There's also a tweak or two to the GBI Timeline, with more to come soon.

The New Ghostbusters, really Ghostbusters Vol.2, begins, with the original Ghostbusters missing in action and Janine being forced to lead a new team comprised of Kylie Griffin, Melanie Ortiz (an FBI Agent who began as a bit of a parody of Dana Scully), and former Ghostsmasher and all-around jerkbag Ron Alexander (Supposedly based on Chevy Chase, but looking more like a lowlife Inspector Gadget). After four issues and a great kiss in issue 3, the original Ghostbusters come back, and Ron is thankfully sent to the Home For Useless Characters, aka the Chicago branch of GBI as run by the Rookie from the Video Game.

The Ectozone celebrates it's tenth anniversary.

The Mattel action figure line rises from its grave...almost. Mattel offers pre-orders for a 6-inch scale ECTO-1 contingent on a ridiculous number of pre-orders for a ridiculous amount of money in a ridiculously short amount of time, and it shocked when it doesn't come anywhere near the goal. In better news, Mattel also announces the release of their latest prop, the "Neutrino" Wand, and it makes a lot of fans deliriously happy when it comes out in December. Fritz had hoped to get one, but some other issues came up and ah well.

GenCon 2013 is even better than 2012, with Fritz and Ogre being able to attend three days out of four. Best news out of GenCon: Vincent Belmont and his girlfriend are now engaged!

Ghostbusters V2#6 is best issue of the IDW comic so far, as Egon and Roger (aka EgonLite) literally have to journey through Janine's mind to free her from some Viking jerkholes who want to punish her for not following the rules to their "test" that they didn't even bother to tell her about. Even Janine regards the events of GB2 with no small amount of squick at this point.

Round 2 Models announces a follow up to their ECTO-1A repop with a repop of the 2002 ECTO-1 kit

2014:

The thirtieth anniversary of the release of Ghostbusters begins, with the announcement of a Lego Ghostbusters set, and more to come.

IDW releases X-Files Conspiracy: Ghostbusters, written by Erik Burnham, and illustrated by Salvador Navarro with a heavy uncredited assist from Steve Kurth.

Feb 3: Fritz celebrates the tenth anniversary of his first self-indulgent third-person anniversary post on GBN by making a self-indulgent third-person anniversary post on the Ectozone.

First, a little note: being tired of making all the "Fritz writes another post in third person" jokes, this year I'm just going to ditch it and do it first person.

2014 Continued:

The biggest Ghostbusters news of the year is on February 24, when actor/writer/director Harold Ramis crosses over to the Other Side. He left a large body of work, including, of course, his role in taking Dan Aykroyd's messy Ghostbusters concept and bringing it down to a workable level. In the process, he created Egon Spengler, the character he would play in two movies and voice in a well-received video game. Egon went on to become my favorite of the four Ghostbusters (though I have to credit J. Micheal Stracynski and voice actor Maurice LaMarche a great deal for that fact also), and even though I didn't agree with Ramis's later decisions (the whole cockblocking his own character with the Janine/Louis debacle in GB2) he's still a big part of why this web site is even here.

And Ramis's body wasn't even cold before people on GBFans started whining about "But this means no Ghostbusters 3!!!!" (Insert ominous foreshadowing music here...)

IDW continued to kick much ass as "Mass Hysteria" dominated much of the year. The official 30th anniversary story, it began with Winston's wedding to longtime (IDW comic) girlfriend Tiyah Clarke just as Tiamat, a figure of Sumerian and Babylonian mythology (as well as Dungeons and Dragons and the RGB episode "I Am the City") decided to show up and start fucking with things. I enjoyed the story immensely even though there was a strong feeling of "Here's another set piece that will remind you of the movies!" and, of course, a somewhat depressing ending where Tiamat pulls a "One More Day" on Winston and wipes out the wedding we'd just seen seven issues before.

That ended the Ghostbusters ongoing series, but it was immediately followed by a four-issue crossover with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from basically the same creative team. And more than one hint has been dropped that more will come, at least in the form of miniseries if not a Volume 3 of the ongoing series, especially as the TMNT crossover has sold so well.

I got off my ass and have posted most of Enlightenment, a story filling one of the remaining "holes" in GBOTFF mythology: just how did Eric Stantz's parents finally get together, anyway? The conclusion wasn't ready for today, but it won't be long. I also did a story that brought IDW comic character Roger Baugh into GBOTFF continuity. How could I not?

Another awesome GenCon, where I once again bought a lot of awesome stuff, and hung out with the completely awesome Vincent Belmont and his fiancee (now wife).

The other big Ghostbusters news began to roll with rumors that director Paul Feig was in talks to do...Ghostbusters 3. With an all-female cast. Unconnected to previous movies. This couldn't be real, could it?

2015

Yes, it's official: Paul Feig is directing GB3, with an all female team (Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, and Kate McKinnon) unconnected to previous continuity save a few promised "cool nods". Some of the dudebros on GBFans are pissed about the all-woman team, and almost all of them are pissed about the reboot. Personally...I guess in my old age and cynicism, I more look at it as "If it sucks with teeth, it's easier to ignore that way." I would have thought Hollywood had learned it's lesson from the faceplant the 2014 Robocop remake made, but then again Micheal Bay's execrable Doctor Rockso ninja turtles made a depressing amount of money, once more proving Mencken's observations ("Noone ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people") correct.

News continues to dribble out about Ghostbusters (2016), including photos of the new proton packs (which seem to go over well with fans) and the new ECTO-1 (which doesn't). Sure, there's still some dudebro whining about "misandry" and "Feig has an agenda so this movie will suck" but it's a little quieter now. Kate McKinnon's character is an early fan favorite based purely on a few photos of her eccentric ensemble and resemblance to RGB Egon.

IDW follows their awesome TMNT crossover with an even more awesome crossover with their cartoon counterparts: Ghostbusters Get Real. The crossover is basically set during "Janine Melnitz, Ghostbuster" 's commercial break, as we find out the guys didn't go straight from Rockefeller Center to Proteus's mirror dungeon. Some great moments--including glimpses of the whole EGB team and even a one-panel cameo of the Filmation Ghostbusters--and the only bad news is that IDW isn't giving us this version every month. (It also inspired a fan fic)

Speaking of fan fics, I finish "Enlightenment" and the first installment of the follow up, Love Songs, is scheduled to be released on February 14. (Valentine's Day. Bummer)

Another awesome GenCon in August (well, technically July and August, since it started on the 30th last year). Vincent Belmont and Pointy Hat Games demo/playtest their upcoming products, to much acclaim.

2016

After a year off for two limited series and an annual, IDW begins the third volume of their spectacular comic with the auspicious title Ghostbusters International. We look forward to great things from Burnham, Schoening, and company (as usual )

You have have heard--for the first time since 1989 a new Ghostbusters movie was in theatres. And of course as Ghostbusters fans we were all deliriously happy and supportive of this major event...hah hah, no, of course we weren't. We actually had alleged Ghostbuster fans rooting against a Ghostbuster movie just because the leads were female and they felt like that made it "too political". The disdain for a reboot instead of a continuation I can understand more...but I somehow doubt a reboot helmed by a mixed or all-male cast would have gotten nearly the level of acrimony.

I guess it didn't help that this happened the same year real-world politics saw a Presidential contest between a well-qualified woman who rose to the top of her party despite three decades of made up crap from the right wing media, and a bombastic asshole with a bad haircut who rose to the top of his party's ticket even after he bragged on tape about getting away with sexual assault and pediphilic voyeurism. A year where the well-qualified woman won the fucking election by nearly three million votes but the asshole got to be president anyway (and has been soooooo good at it, too...)

The IDW series continued to roll along with eleven issues of Ghostbusters International. I admit...I still enjoy this series a great deal, but I just don't get as tingly excited as I did during Vol.1 and 2. With all the other subplots that showed promise but didn't go anywhere (most notably the whole fizzled Egon/Janine/Roger idea that gave us one spectacular issue (v2#6) but otherwise was a giant dud) then the stupid "One More Day" ending of Vol.2 throwing out years of Winston's character development just kind of wrote it in neon "NOTHING OF CONSEQUENCE IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THIS SERIES--SONY WON'T LET IT"

And in a weird way, "Get Real" just made it worse--it was like I was catching glimpses of a book I really want, but will never get.

I dunno...the recently announced "Ghostbusters 101" shows potential...I hope it can reignite some of the flame. I guess we'll see.

2017

Feb. 3. My GBN profile is now fourteen years old, incredibly moody, and blaming me for everything that goes wrong in its life.

I realize that, after Ghostbusting 101 (guest starring the 2016 crew and a whole passle of underdeveloped new characters) and TMNT/GB2 (which, true to the top billing, is really a Turtle story guest starring the Ghostbusters) I'm getting really really bored with the whole interdimenstional crossover thing.

The best Ghostbusters story IDW published in 2017 was actually the first part of a miniseries starring the 2016/"Answer the Call" characters. No parade of interdimensional guest stars, just four Ghostbusters versus a nasty entity. It's a relief that IDW does apparently still know how to tell these stories.

2018

Unfortunately, 2018 is gonna see the biggest, most bloated interdimensional crossever yet, and I never thought I'd be so non-excited about something like this.

Plus my GBN profile is now fifteen years old, and taunting the Ectozone how it'll be old enough to drive three months earlier next year.